


Speaking without hearing

by itsaroosterteeththing



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-31
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-25 04:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/948384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsaroosterteeththing/pseuds/itsaroosterteeththing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael is going into First Grade and meets the new British kid who's awfully intriguing for someone who doesn't talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New school. new boy.

Kindergarten had been scary, but 1st grade. 1st Grade was an absolutely terrifying idea to Michael, whom at the age of only six would much rather stay at home and play his games. Kids tended not to like Michael, finding his loud and boisterous attitude a little too...overwhelming for them, and after spending some years in kindergarten it was amazing he'd established the small group of friends he had. Going into 1st grade and having to meet new people was somewhat of a nightmare to the curly haired tyke.  


On the first day, however, in true Michael fashion, he was the first up and to prove how much of a big boy he was, he climbed out of his bed and padded over to the miniature desk he had in the corner, where his mom had placed his new clothes the night before while putting the loud mouthed boy to bed. He pulled on his shirt and get stuck as he tries to pull his head through the arm hole in his sweatshirt, he huffed and he puffed until he found the right opening for his head to fit through. Michael picked up his pants and threw them on, pulling them up and and doing his best to button them with his tiny stumpy fingers. Michael trudged on through to the kitchen after getting himself somewhat dressed. Breakfast was the next thing to trouble him, but it seemed the high kitchen cabinets would not be a problem for the short young boy as an arm peered over head and grabbed his special bowl and everything else. Looked like mom was up. He huffed again and puffed out his cheeks, crossing his arms indignantly as the older woman laughs and makes him his cereal.  


"Well, who's a big boy that got himself dressed this morning?" she cooes, ruffling his curls when she places down his bowl. He beams at the compliment and hops up to his breakfast.  


The morning passes rather sluggishly, making Michael more nervous by the second, although he definitely wouldn't show it, nuh uh, he was a big boy now and big boys don't get nervous. His dad rushed off to work, leaving Michael with a kiss and a good luck, his mother fixed his clothes, tucking in his t-shirt and buttoning his jeans, fixing his socks and putting his shoes on and before long the soon-to-be first-grader was ready to go, using the only method of procrastination he knew at that age he put off leaving his home while playing the new Zelda game, perhaps if he could just...  


"Michael, now!" the young boy frowned and the butterflies in his stomach became aflutter again, making him feel a little sick to be matter of fact. He saved and turned his things off, trying to hold his head high as he made his way to the car, sitting in the back seat he felt the dread of his first day of first grade looming over him still.  
It was only when Michael saw his good friend Ray that he seemed to relax a little. His mother bid him farewell, kissed his forehead and gave him luck like his dad. She handed him his lunch and sped off to work. Michael gulped and turned to Ray, who looked equally relieved to see Michael there.  


"Did you hear? There's gonna be a boy from England coming!" His eyes were large and excited, the shockingly Caucasian Peurto-Rican New Yorker looked as lively as ever, and even more excited and interested in the new boy, although they'd be getting a lot of new boys and girls in their grade, they had never met a person from England!  


"Really? All the way from England?" Michael inquired, curiosity peaking.  


"Yeah! I bet it takes ages to get home every night!" The comment made Michael roll his eyes, shaking his head at his friend.  


"Idiot, he probably moved here." Ray seemed satisfied with Michael's theory, though still went on about this boy, though neither of them could guess from the flock of kids around which could be the British boy, Ray had only just decided to go around everyone and ask if they knew who he was when the first bell went. Michael gulped heavily and got in line behind Ray and the other kids.  


The classroom was extremely colorful and made Michael think of Kindergarten, which calmed him quite a lot. The teacher looked very friendly, if not a little manic. He told them all his name was 'Mr Heyman' but Michael heard him introduce himself as 'Joel' to the interested parents quizzing him. There was no seating plan, which eased Michael further, he could sit next to Ray and not some other kid he'd never met before.  


"Okay boys and girls, we aren't going to do much today, we'll give introductions and then we'll get some games going, okay?!" he smiled this wide smile that eased the entire room, his black hair was a mess, but instead of making him look unkempt, it made him look....fun to the kids. He instructed every one to get out of their chosen seats and stand in a big circle, he gave a young girl a fuzzy looking teddy bear and told everyone that when someone holds the bear everyone must listen, even the teacher. When he gave the young girl the bear, he went to sit on a table behind a group of boys. "You must say your name and something you like!" The girl with the bear looked terrified, her eyes wide and blue.  


"My- My name is Lindsay Tuggey and I like Adventure Time!" her voice was hushed and hurried, but Michael grinned big, the small brunette liked his favourite show too! Perhaps he could meet some friends here! All he would have to not be so angry, like mommy said! The girl passed it on and he really wanted to meet a lot of the people here! He already knew Miles and Kerry, but Barbara, Kara and Ryan sounded really nice too! Michael soon forgot his nerves and as the bear was given to Ray, he heard him say that the thing he liked was flowers, especially roses! Mommy said that Ray had been given a rose on his birthday and from Santa every Christmas and birthday, and that's why he loved them so much! Michael was given the bear and he looked around at all the kids looking at him and gulped again, playing with the bears fuzzy ears.  


"My name is M-Michael Jones and I- I really like playing Zelda!" He gave his bestest, friendliest grin and passed the bear on to the boy next to him, who was called Caleb and was really nice. The bear was then passed to a boy with dark blonde hair who was wearing a polo shirt and a pair of jeans. He seemed a lot more nervous than the rest of the boys and girls, and Michael wondered if he was the English boy and he was ashamed of his accent or something. Michael's thought's were answered when Mr. Heyman, who had been sitting behind the boy suddenly spoke up.  


"Boys and girls, this is Gavin Free, he's from England and he's super special, okay? He won't be doing much talking. I don't want to hear anything about anyone picking on him, understood?" Mr. Heyman never told us how Gavin was special, but just said that we would have to ask super nicely at recess. Michael looked around and only saw a few curious faces. Maybe he could ask him quietly so no one would be mean like Mr. Heyman thought! After the introductions were finished, Mr Heyman made everyone go around and have a 2 minute conversation with everyone, and to make sure no one got left out, he took Gavin aside and let him sit out. Michael frowned a little but went on with his task.  
Perhaps he would find out more about the boy at break.


	2. I bet there's an app for that.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, you know. Language barriers and stuff.

Recess came and Michael instantly made his way to Gavin, who had been clinging close to the teacher for the passed fifteen minutes of art time. Other boys and girls didn't really pay attention, more interested in the collection of new toys and games that Mr Heyman had in his classroom. Michael stopped in front of Mr. Heyman and pouted a little before looking up to him, his curls covering his eyes.

"Can I talk to Gavin, Mr. Heyman?" Michael asked in his most polite voice, his mother had instructed him not to talk to anyone with the same tone he had in kindergarten. Mr. Heyman looked down at the dirty blonde and mulled the question over for a moment and nodded carefully, asking Michael if he could read and asking Gavin if he could write, when both nodded he sent them on their way but kept a close eye on the pair.

Michael walked over to his desk and told Gavin to sit down next to him before running off to grab paper and pens, what an odd way to talk to each other. Perhaps Gavin really was special. When Michael sat down, he gave a pen and a piece of paper to Gavin. Michael waited for Gavin to start but figured he should start. He looked down to the paper and scribbled carefully 'hi im michael' on the piece of paper and showing it to Gavin. Gavin smiled a small smile, the first Michael had seen the boy give. He smiles back to Michael and nods, giving a shy wave before looking down at his own piece.

Gavin wrote neatly for a six year old, his letters clear and easily read.

'Im gavin are you going to be my frend' Gavin slid the piece over to Michael, his eyes wide and expectant as he scrutinized the curly haired boys expression. Michael feels silly now and he huffs, turning to Gavin.

"Why wont you talk?" He asks, speaking aloud at last, his eyes narrowing slightly. Gavin looks down to his paper again and sticks his tongue out as he writes 'I cant' to Michael. Michael frowns, comprehension not setting in. "Are you stupid?" he asks him, his eyebrows knitting together. Gavin looks hurt and he bites his lips before shaking his head, his eyes darting back to the paper while he scribbles down in a hurried way. The bell rings to tell the children recess was over and Gavin runs off to his desk in the back of the class. Michael looks to the paper and reads 'I'm deaf' in his mind. Michael doesn't completely know what that means, but he knows it means Gavin's different, special like Mr. Heyman said.

Lunch came not too long after, although Michael's stomach grumbled loudly, loud enough to make a few children titter. He originally thought they were making fun of him, but Mr. Heyman assured him they just found it funny, and weren't trying to be mean. Michael sat with Ray, Miles and Kerry at lunch, who had befriended Lindsay, Ryan and Caleb. They were especially funny, and Michael was befriending them as well. He looked over the tables and his eyes landed on Gavin, who was sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria. Michael wanted to go over and talk to him, but he neither had pencils or paper. 

Michael's first day of First Grade was much less scary than he'd imagined, and he had a small group of friends who liked him, maybe only because he was on his best behaviour, but they liked him nonetheless! Michael talked to Lindsay and Ryan about Zelda because they liked it too, and he talked to Lindsay about Adventure time and they argued about who was better. Finn or Marceline, but decided that Gunther was both of their favourites.

He sat down to dinner excitedly that night, babbling on about his first day and about the people he met.

"And there's Gavin! He's British! and something called...deaf?" he looks up to his parents, as if for confirmation. "I think he's lonely." He shovels another forkful of food into his mouth and as per his mother's request, did not talk with his mouth full.

"Mom, what is deaf?" He looks up from his position to see his mom give a simple smile as she opened her mouth to answer.

"It means he can't hear you when you speak, sweetie." He frowns and plays with the peas on his plate. 

"But he knew what I was saying, and wrote back to me." his little eyebrows remained knit together while he played with his food.

"Perhaps he can lip-read, which means he can see what you're saying, he just can't hear it." His mother finished her meal and stood up to clear plates away. "It's more likely he can use sign language, though" She cleared her own plate and Michael's, his dad wasn't home from work just yet. He usually worked late, as long as Michael could remember.

"What's sign lang-language?" he fumbles over the word but thinks back to his mother's pronunciation and gets it in the end.

"He can talk with his hands, sweetie. The deaf learn from when their very young."

"I wanna learn, Momma, can I learn? Will you teach me?" Michael was very adamant, his little face looking eagerly up at the woman, expectant and waiting. "Please?" he adds, as if the word itself would sway her any.

"I guess we can have a go..." she mulls the thought over in her mind and disappears to grab a tablet. "I bet there's an app for that" she smiles, allowing Michael down from his seat at the dining table.

Michael and his mother sat cosied together on the sofa for hours that night, learning how to say simple greetings like "How are you?" and "Hello, my name is _____" thankfully Michael's mother had found an app that taught children how to speak sign, and it gave Michael useful phrases like "Do you want to play?" and "Can I be your friend?" Michael and his mother practiced and practiced until Michael was falling asleep on his mother's shoulder. Well passed the six year old's bed time, he was put to bed and slept the entire night.

In the morning Michael made his mother practice with him again, and that recess Gavin was so shocked to see the boy he had met only yesterday sign "hello Gavin' to him, fumbling over some of the shapes, but clear enough that Gavin understood. Gavin grinned wider than Michael had ever seen and he signed "hello" back, with extra letters on the end, Michael tried to follow but it was too quick for him but he supposed it was "Hello Michael". Gavin was even more-so shocked with the curly haired boy blushed and fumbled over "will you be my friend?" Gavin made a knocking gesture that Michael recognised as the word "Yes" from learning yesterday. The altercation took place with Mr. Heyman looking approvingly at the two, knowing they'd become close friends in no time.


	3. The Great Mogar does not get jealous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So incredibly sorry for how short this is, it physically pains me that this is under 1300 words.

Years had gone by and the unlikely pair of friends were joint together at the hip. They were 13 and in the midst of their 7th grade, in 7 short years Michael had become somewhat of an expert on sign language and now conversed incredibly with Gavin, even when no-one else could understand. His other friends followed both of them up to high school as well, Lindsay, the young girl who liked Adventure Time, had become best friends with Michael, along with Ray, Miles and Kerry too, and Ryan, of course, who had been hidden away in his own little shell was starting to peep out, and the more Michael saw of Ryan the more he liked him.  


Classes were easy, a breeze even. Nothing was ever taken seriously, however the work was done, and it was done well, much to his mother’s approval. Gavin helped a lot, though, especially in science, he was pretty damn clever, even if he acted like an idiot most of the time, not that many people really took notice. He was the deaf kid in class, no one really bothered with him much, and if they did, they didn’t understand him at all and they ended up getting bored and or frustrated with having difficulty communicating with him. It was something that hurt Gavin deeply but Michael paid no attention, only saying that if they were truly wanting to be his friend; they would take the time to learn a few simple signs.  


Ray had tried to learn sign language several times, never really picking it up, but he knew enough to say hello to Gavin and ask how he was, Ray knew the basics, and Lindsay learned really well, she could at least fumble over a conversation with Gavin. This was why he’d taken to carrying around a chalk board and chalk, letting people talk and answering back in writing, which was far easier to understand than sign language. People tended to like it better that way, especially the teachers. If, however, Gavin did forget to bring his chalkboard, it would become Michael’s responsibility to translate for him. Sometimes...just sometimes Gavin would ‘accidentally’ forget his chalkboard and Michael would ‘accidentally’ give a weird answer that made no sense. For example when Gavin was asked to tell the class the reasons for the start of World War One, Michael answered for him while Gavin signed the reasons he thought that the Kennedy assassination was something to do with the illuminati. The class got a kick out of that one.  


Anyhow, it was the middle of their seventh grade and the year had whizzed by. Michael making easy A’s in his classes and finding that people were far more accepting of his explosive nature in High School, although he was still incredibly careful around his mother. Michael had made quite a name for himself in the school, but he was all talk. Michael really wasn’t one for fighting, not unless provoked, and so far nothing had come to that. Gavin had recently taken an interest in some air headed girl that seemed to know little more than how to tie her shoe laces. Gavin rambled on and on about her constantly, and if it was possible, Michael actually got tired of watching Gavin talk about her, even a little bit annoyed.  


“You’re just jealous” Gavin signed to him one day, Michael rolled his eyes and shook his head.  


“You’re an egotistical prick” Michael replied, crossing his arms afterwards, frowning intently at Gavin while the British boy shrugged, signed ‘see you later’ and turned to go speak with this girl. Well...speak in the only way that Gavin could.  


Michael wasn’t jealous. Not in the slightest. He was Michael Jones; he does not get jealous of his best friend having a crush.  


Perhaps, however, Michael Jones was jealous of his crush having a crush, but that’s impossible, he couldn’t be crushing on his deaf best friend, but as it seems, the great ‘Mogar’ was most definitely crushing on his best friend.


End file.
